May 2006

One of the things I love about the Psalms is that David and the other writers speak freely; when troubled, they say so. Discouraged? They state what’s bothering them, and sometimes they even sound like they are complaining. Psalm 3 is a good example; David writes,

O LORD, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!

Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.“
Selah

What keeps David from being a whiner? He always–always–turns it around. He pauses for a moment after these two verses (the selah), and then he offers a new thought, a fresh perspective on his situation:

But you are a shield around me, O LORD;
you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.

To the LORD I cry aloud,
and he answers me from his holy hill.
Selah

I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

I will not fear the tens of thousands
drawn up against me on every side.

Arise, O LORD!
Deliver me, O my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.

From the LORD comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.
Selah

Look at the confidence with which David asserts God’s care:

• You are a shield
• You bestow glory
• He answers me
• I wake because the LORD sustains me
• I will not fear
• from the LORD comes deliverance

David doesn’t say, as I often heard growing up in church, “bless him, Lord, if it’s your will.” David says, “I’ve got a problem–a BIG problem! But God is faithful and He will deliver me!” David has an incredible, absolute confidence in God’s care, and he speaks it out loud.

I confess that often it’s easier for me to admire David for his confidence than to show such confidence myself. That’s why I find it helpful to pray the Psalms and put David’s words in my mouth. Though I might not have David’s confidence in my heart the first time I declare “I cry aloud and the Lord answers me from His holy hill,” I gain it as I speak it again and again. And I say it out loud so I can hear myself speaking confidently. I’ve been told that we believe what we hear ourselves say more than we believe the words spoken by others. If that is true (and it seems reasonable to me), then all the more reason to join with David and say it out loud. Put it on paper and make your words–and your confidence–visible. What helps you to speak with confidence?

Tagged as: confidence, David, faith, prayer, Psalms, trust, words